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Enhancing Retail Environments and ExperiencesThu, 24 May 2018 17:26:55 +0000en-UShourly1http://shopassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/cropped-SHOP-RGB-ALT-ICON-32x32.jpghttp://shopassociation.org
3232Shop! Economic Advisor July 2016http://shopassociation.org/shop-economic-advisor-july-2016/
http://shopassociation.org/shop-economic-advisor-july-2016/#respondTue, 20 Sep 2016 22:13:41 +0000http://www.shopassociation.org/?p=9691Annual US Industrial Production in June is down 1.1% from the previous year. The current weakness in the industrial sector is due to decline in Electric […]

]]>Annual US Industrial Production in June is down 1.1% from the previous year. The current weakness in the industrial sector is due to decline in Electric and Gas Utilities Production (down 2 2%) and US Mining Production (down 8 8%) The mining industry is battered by low oil and mineral commodity prices over the past year, although early signs of improvement are evident Oil prices closed June at $48.33/barrel and are expected to generally rise into mid-2017. Prices will oscillate around $50.0/barrel through the rest of 2016. While still down roughly 50.0% from the 2014 peak, this level is generally considered profitable enough to encourage production.

Steel Futures Prices closed June at $220 0/gross ton. Further mild decline is likely this year, but the worst of the negative pricing pressures are behind us. Rising prices support our expectation of a recovery in the mining industry in the second half of 2016. US Manufacturing Production (up 0 5%) is outperforming the other components of Industrial Production, although annual growth is slowing. The Purchasing Managers Index has been generally rising since a cyclical low in late 2015, which with a recovery in the mining industry later this year, supports our expectation of a recovery in US Industrial Production in late 2016.

Consumers increasingly view gender as fluid, and the fashion and beauty industries are reflecting this shift in mindset with products that present a neutral aesthetic. Cosmetics and fragrance brands are realizing they are ignoring a great opportunity by catering to specific genders, and are adopting a more inclusive approach.

Photo: iStock/LemonTreeImages

“Today, most beauty products are still marketed toward either women or men, but consumers are looking for a new message that speaks directly to their sensibilities rather than their gender,” says David Arbuthnot, founder of skincare brand CONTEXT.

The runway has been a forerunner in blurring the gender lines, with high-end fashion designers abandoning gender signals altogether by featuring men in women’s clothes as of late and vice versa. Additionally, the rise of the transgender model has also pushed the boundaries of gender rethinking.

Many brands are intentionally blurring the lines in their offerings and outlets to embrace an increasingly flexible perception of sex among consumers.

Recent polls suggest that society doesn’t believe gender is defined by biology as it once was. In fact, 60% of people between the ages of 14 and 34 think gender lines are blurred, and 81% of today’s teenagers worldwide claim “gender doesn’t define a person as much as it used to,” according to the Innovation Group and JWT.

A new report by market research firm NDP Group, “Blurred Lines: How Retail is Becoming Less Gendered, and Why You Should Care,” suggests that retailers and brand marketers should not ignore the trend for gender-neutral clothing. It cites data supporting the assertion that young shoppers increasingly see gender along a spectrum rather than in black-and-white terms, and are much less attached to male and female distinctions than their predecessors.

The conversation around identity is now key for the retail industry.

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DRIVERS

Photo: iStock/Thomas Faull

Given the visibility that celebrities like Caitlyn Jenner have brought to the issue, as well as the political firestorm that ensued earlier this year over the controversial HB2 transgender bathroom legislation in North Carolina, for example, the gender discussion has come front-and-center in the media and society at large. The notion of neutrality is increasing in importance among consumers who are seeking new definitions of identity, which is often expressed through beauty and fashion, in particular. As a result, non-gender-specific brands are reporting double-digit growth in a challenging market, according to NPD Group.

IMPACTS

A Wall Street Journal report looks at fit in gender-neutral fashion. Click to see video.

As noted, the global mindset is shifting toward a fluid outlook on gender that rejects traditional male-female categorizations, which is being manifested most notably across the retail, fashion, and beauty categories. Here are a few examples:

Retail Gets a Makeover. Perhaps the most notable case in the genderless retail trend is the announcement by Target last year to remove gender labels from toys and bedding. An official Target company statement notes, “Over the past year, guests have raised important questions about a handful of signs in our stores that offer product suggestions based on gender. In some cases, like apparel, where there are fit and sizing differences, it makes sense. In others, it may not.” Consequently, Target no longer suggests boys’ or girls’ products in the bedding area, and references to gender—including the use of pink, blue, yellow, or green paper on the back walls of its shelves—are being removed in the toy aisles.

British department store Selfridges experimented with a gender-free popup store, aptly named Agender, according to Quartz. NDP also notes that American Apparel has been testing the waters of gender neutrality for years with its Unisex Tri-Blend Short Sleeve V-Necks, for example. Some brands now feature genderless clothing sections online.

Closing the Gap on the Runway. According to NPD’s report, Marc Jacobs, Rag & Bone, and Giorgio Armani are creating clothing lines tailored to people identifying as any gender, and Gucci recently launched a menswear line featuring delicate lace and slouchy bows and displayed by both sexes on the runway. Similarly, Miuccia Prada’s 2015 Spring Menswear collection seemed to fit models of both genders equally well.

Skin is Skin. New genderless strategies on skincare are built on the premise that men and women have chemically identical skin, so products should be formulated for end results rather than targeted to a specific gender. Based on this principle, former Dior and Gucci executive David Arbuthnot launched CONTEXT, a New York-based skincare brand catering to both genders with products sold in simple black and white packaging. The brand touts natural ingredients with antioxidant properties, such as witch hazel, manuka honey and green tea, and their universal benefits, such as oil control, brightening and protection.

Enhanced Living. Cosmetics brand MAKE’suniversal Naxos line is a gender-neutral collection that includes a primer, eyelash and eyebrow gel, and lip and cheek color stick housed inside minimal, monochrome packaging. Multifunctional formulations, such as an all-in-one lip oil and remover, extend the flexible ethos.

Scent of a … Calvin Klein dominated the unisex scent market in the 1990s with its CKOne perfume. The marketing behind the brand’s new CK2 fragrance relies on a more heterogeneous approach. Likewise, for Chanel’s gender-fluid fragrance Boy, perfumer Olivier Polge used a variety of notes to create a fragrance aimed at men that can also be worn by women.

CAPTURING THE MARKET

While the tendency may be to cast as wide a net as possible in this genderless age, brands would be wise to carefully consider the following principles and strategies for capitalizing on the Neutral Beauty trend:

Products not tied to gender let consumers decide whether and how to use them.

Although traditional visual merchandising categories are still useful to consumers, some brands are creating sorting systems that foster discovery over obvious organization. Traditional categories are being replaced with emotional ways of organizing products. This technique is being applied across sectors from food and drink to lingerie.

A Nirma University research report points to a pivotal relationship between customers’ impulse buying behavior and window display, floor merchandising, and promotional signage. “When consumers are exposed to … visual stimuli, they more likely make purchase decisions on impulse. This suggests that these visual merchandising practices, serving as stimuli that provoke a desire that ultimately motivates a consumer to make an unplanned purchase decision upon entering the store, significantly influence consumers’ impulse buying behaviors,” the authors note.
Retailers need to consider innovative approaches to visual merchandising and create new sorting categories that appeal less to rigid logical classifications and tap into consumers’ emotions and desire for discovery instead.

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DRIVERS

Browsing, fundamental to discovery in brick-and-mortar stores, has been given a new twist as retailers tailor their offers to people’s personal moods. Brands are using emotional quotient technology to capture emotional data and make personalized recommendations. As a result, products are no longer organized by function, but by the emotional response they elicit. The spectrum of emotions that can be measured is growing, enabling brands to create even more personal experiences.

IMPACTS

Photo: iStock/Halfpoint

Flavor profiling. The drinks sector has old standbys for organizing menus and bar displays. Wines are broken down into red, white, and rosé, then by price. Hard liquor is often ordered by spirit category and then by provenance. But whisky barBlack Rock has abandoned ordinary taxonomy with a system that focuses on flavor above region or brand. A visit to Black Rock begins with a bartender asking about the flavor preferences of the guest. “We ask: ‘Do you prefer drinks that are richer, smokier, chocolatey? The flavor of figs or dates, for instance?’” explains co-founder Tom Aske. “We can point them in the direction of the cabinet that contains the style they would like. The guest then has the ability to explore these cabinets, and to introduce themselves to whiskies they might never have heard of before. It’s about exploration and empowerment.”

New decimal system. Discovery is built into bookstores’ DNA, but the traditional shelves of tomes aren’t enticing enough browsers away from the deep discounts and convenience of Amazon.Libreria, which opened in February, aims to bring a different experience to the bookshop. It has eliminated the usual categories of organization, such as genre and author name. Instead, the bookstore—which doesn’t offer any of the amenities of many competitors such as Wifi and coffee—arranges books based on changing themes such as “mothers, madonnas and whores” or “the sea and the sky.” The store’s director, Sally Davies, believes the space “enables you to get an overview of the intellectual landscape and immerse yourself in the experience of being in the store.”

Mood Retail. Anglo-Francophone brandDessù has also abandoned traditional notions of visual merchandising for lingerie. Lingerie is usually easily categorized into day or night, sport or fancy, but Dessù defines its lingerie by time of day. Its first collection consists of six items of underwear, embodying the spirit of different times of day: 9:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. The point is not to say that women need to change their underwear six times a day, but rather to acknowledge that women have evolving desires,” notes co-founder Lisa Douët. “The idea was to build a collection that would address all of the women’s aspirations in terms of fit, shape, and style.”

CAPTURING THE MARKET

As visual merchandising is rethought and restructured to appeal to consumers’ emotions and open up new possibilities for exploration and discovery, brands should keep the following tips in mind:

Create unusual taxonomies that enable consumers to delve more deeply into your brand.

Consider how applying emotions to your categories can make your products more meaningful.

View your digital and physical offer as one. Use your digital channels as an opportunity to enhance the sense of discovery of brick-and-mortar stores.

Facilitate mind-wandering. Move away from being prescriptive about product categories and provoke new ways of thinking about the retail experience.

Confusion can breed discovery. Visitors to the bookshop Libreria start by being confused, before embracing the browsing journey.

]]>http://shopassociation.org/sort-by-serendipity/feed/0Kidpreneurshttp://shopassociation.org/kidpreneurs/
http://shopassociation.org/kidpreneurs/#respondTue, 20 Sep 2016 21:26:46 +0000http://www.shopassociation.org/?p=9671Young people today seem to intuitively understand that their ideas and experiments are not just a hobby, but rather, are potentially viable business opportunities for tomorrow. […]

Young people today seem to intuitively understand that their ideas and experiments are not just a hobby, but rather, are potentially viable business opportunities for tomorrow. Kids believe they can achieve business success largely because Millennials enjoy “near ubiquitous” exposure to entrepreneurship, according to the Kauffman Foundation, a nonprofit promoter of entrepreneurship.

Photo: iStock/TERADAT SANTIVIVUT

They’ve been influenced by Mark Zuckerberg’s rise to billionaire status by age 23 and by such TV shows as “Money Tigers” (stylized after its Japanese debut into “Dragons’ Den,” “Shark Tank,” and other names in nearly 30 countries). Inspired by the stories they see and read about, many young people have turned their innovation ideas into a reality. These upstarts represent the future brands of tomorrow.

Born between 1996 and 2010, members of Generation Z make up 1.9 billion globally, according to GettingGenZ.com. With these digital native teens coming of age this year, it is imperative for brands to come to grips with their needs and wants.

Kidpreneurs, who are members of Generation Z, are not just technology-obsessed kids. Don’t underestimate them. They already hold the key to $44 billion in spending power, according to J. Walter Thompson Intelligence. They have tremendous worth as consumers and worldwide contributors.

Entrepreneurialism is key to this demographic group, as 72% want to start their own business, according to research by Millennial Branding. Some 42% expect to work for themselves in some way and 65% are confident that they will experience more financial success than their parents, according to a study by Northeastern University. In 2016, especially, they are beginning to reveal their exceptional potential, drive, and ambition at unusually young ages, while quickly moving into the grown-up world via their own business start-ups and savvy career moves.

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DRIVERS AND IMPACTS

Technology, the media, retail, and social media drive this savvy demographic group. These drivers have manifested themselves in a variety of ways that appeal to kidpreneuers’ sensibilities.

Photo: iStock/Christopher Futcher

Technology is integral to the future success of Kidpreneurs’ businesses, and they admit they wouldn’t be where they are without it. Key devices include iMacs and Dell Inspiron laptops for presentations, and applications such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and Skype for meetings. Of course, social media sites such as Instagram and Twitter are used on a daily basis. In fact, according to research from Marketo, 40% of Gen Z spends three or more hours a day on computers for non-school related activities, and prefer to do so across five devices. Members of this group also use wearable devices, including the Microsoft Band watch, so they can keep track of everything while on the go.

Blogs such asWeWoreWhat and The Coveteur as well as magazines including Nylon, Vogue, and Seventeen are popular leisure reading for this group. But these ambitious young teens aren’t afraid to aim high when it comes to media. Even if they only get the gist of the content, they indulge in books that feature entrepreneurs and role models who inspire and educate, such as Daymond John’s The Brand Within and Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry.

Unlike many of their peers, kidpreneurs’ careers aren’t fashion-focused. They don’t care much for fashion labels. Anything that is comfortable and aids them in their day-to-day lives and career goals will do just fine. Brands such as Toms, which have a story behind them and promote ethical design, appeal to this group. Those that are in the fashion industry certainly know who’s who, balancing high-end with High Street and boutique – think Alexander Wang, Adidas, and CatBird NYC.

Juggling a business and education leaves little time to browse in-store, apart from when travelling. Then, they like brick-and-mortar experiences at places such as Selfridges or Australia’s largest mall, Chadstone. This group enjoys shopping quickly, often online at sites such as Nasty Gal and Zulily.com to fit in with their seven-day-week schedules. Their entrepreneurship informs their purchasing decisions, as they understand cost price. It also increases their admiration for the time and effort that goes into both product development and marketing.

Instagram is the Kidpreneurs’ favorite social media platform. They use it to share news about their brand story and progress, and for updates on products. Facebook is less popular and used much less regularly since Instagram is the most relevant and popular social media right now for their peers. Business-focused YouTube channels aren’t a priority just yet, but they will be in the future.

CAPTURING THE MARKET

CBX taught 9- to 12-year-olds about branding and environment design as they worked together to develop this lemonade stand built by Big Apple Visual Group. While the proceeds from sales at a busy Manhattan plaza went to the charity that organized the program, the kids learned business skills for retail.

Although they may be small in stature, members of this demographic are serious about success. Keep these strategies in mind when considering how to connect with Kidpreneurs:

Take them seriously. Kidpreneuers aren’t just children with income to spend. These are motivated, business-minded people who are learning the art of success by putting their ideas to work. They represent the future brands of tomorrow, and wield a great deal of influence already.

Get them plugged in. As part of Gen Z, this group is highly versed in technology and multitasking. Introduce apps, software, or wearables that simplify their complex lives, and make it easy for them to connect with your brand.

Be an educator. Kidpreneurs are inquisitive, so look for ways to educate them about how to be successful in business. Give them tools to understand costs and strategies to help them become profitable in their ventures. Inspire them with content through media outlets that matter to them.

Go beyond the surface. Relate stories about how your brand is making an impact in the world beyond just sales. Social responsibility is attractive to Gen Z, so get beyond the superficial fashion trends and offer more for Kidpreneurs to chew on.

Value their time. Although they are young, these kids are busier than ever and place a great deal of value on time. Online and mobile channels should emphasize efficiency and ease of purchase. Make sure costs are easy to find as well.

Get social. Don’t waste time on social media channels where Kidpreneurs aren’t spending much time, such as Facebook. Deliver lively, engaging content on Instagram, Snapchat, Whisper, Secret, and YouTube, for example.

]]>http://shopassociation.org/kidpreneurs/feed/0Destination Retailhttp://shopassociation.org/destination-retail/
http://shopassociation.org/destination-retail/#respondTue, 20 Sep 2016 21:18:57 +0000http://www.shopassociation.org/?p=9670The future of physical shopping is about creating a compelling destination and a location-specific brand experience. Department stores and malls are drawing on their best asset—space—to […]

The future of physical shopping is about creating a compelling destination and a location-specific brand experience. Department stores and malls are drawing on their best asset—space—to re-enchant consumers. Retailers are restructuring stores and changing how success is measured. No longer solely focused on the transaction, brands are creating inspiring, interactive, immersive environments. These spaces engage the senses and give consumers a reason to linger

In 2015, 20% of U.S. malls had vacancy rates between 10% and 40%, according to CoStart Group. To get consumers away from their screens, malls are tapping into trends that make their spaces destinations rather than one-stop shops. While foot traffic has been falling, conversions and ticket sizes are increasing. According to a recent survey by GfK, 40% of Millennials prefer to experience products before they buy them.

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DRIVERS

Photo: iStock/nd3000

Experience economy. Customer services need to be intuitive and highly personalized. Harris research for Eventbrite found that 78% of Millennials would spend money on an experience or event before buying something desirable.

Conviviality culture. Consumers are looking for new spaces in which to socialize, share, engage, and learn. Brands can extend the reach of their relationships by becoming the heart of the community, converting online followers into physical footfall. More than a quarter (26%) of British consumers now follow retailers on social media channels, while 44% follow brands, according to a study by research firm Future Thinking.

Instant gratification. The Internet has created a sense of immediacy. By making everything available at the click of a button, it has redefined expectations for immediate gratification. So brick-and-mortar retailers must work hard to match the convenience of online shopping: click and collect, search, and price comparison.
“Click and collect is 2016’s big convenience driver,” says Natalie Berg, retail insights director at Planet Retail. “With around half of global shoppers looking for convenient pickup points, click-and-collect is no longer a nice-to-have; it’s now a prerequisite.” To enhance convenience, retailers are collaborating with like-minded but non-competing brands to improve the overall customer experience. Examples include eBay working with Argos and ASOS working with Boots.

IMPACTS

Community Commerce. Retail brands can reconnect with consumers by combining engaging in-store experiences with one-stop social activities and events in surrounding neighborhoods. The latest concept store inNike’s Community Store program in the U.S. is committed to hiring at least 80% of its staff from within a five-mile radius of its location in Brooklyn, N.Y. Starbucks’ latest outpost in Queens, N.Y., offers educational opportunities and on-site training to young adults from the area.The local community was involved in the construction of Café/Day in Shizuoka, Japan. Samsung’s new flagship in New York’s Meatpacking district features a triple-story cinema screen and will host concerts, live streams of major events, and keynotes from company spokespeople at CES. The London flagship of beauty specialist Lush features three floors of live demonstrations, a spa, a henna hair-dye station, workshops for expert panel discussions, and a multisensory cinema.

Incubator Retail. Big brands are increasingly acting like small start-ups, creating loyalty by nurturing consumers with sponsorship packages for innovative new services and providing space and support for entrepreneurs. Tesco and Walmart have launched retail laboratories to generate insights on cutting-edge technology trends to inform their future strategy.In the U.K., John Lewis runs JLAB, a 12-week accelerator program designed to attract start-up innovators. And inside San Francisco’s Westfield complex, Bespoke is home to a variety of retail technology start-ups.

District Rebranding. Department stores are undergoing radical transformations. New shopping districts with a strong sense of place, culture, and history, are being rebranded as hangout areas driven by lifestyle demographics rather than merchandise categories. New York’s Meatpacking Districthas newfound upmarket appeal and a fresh visual identity with a website and on-street fascias referencing its contrasting history of gritty commerce and chic high culture. Covent Garden in London has effectively become a dispersed outdoor department store with areas dedicated to beauty, menswear, and luxury. In Berlin, department store KaDaWe plans to transform the space into four retail quadrants targeting different demographics with architectural and commercial themes.

Food Temples. Taking inspiration from street markets, food halls are serving best-in-class global dishes and local favorites, curated and repackaged for cosmopolitan cities. Chef Anthony Bourdain plans to open a large food marketplace on Pier 57 in New York in 2017. And following the success of its Mercado da Ribeira project in Lisbon, publisher Time Out is set to open a food market in London in 2017 and another in New York in 2018.

]]>http://shopassociation.org/destination-retail/feed/0The E-Motional Economyhttp://shopassociation.org/trends-e-motional-economy/
http://shopassociation.org/trends-e-motional-economy/#respondTue, 20 Sep 2016 20:58:01 +0000http://www.shopassociation.org/?p=9664A new wave of sophisticated emo-diversity is ushering in an era in which people are increasingly obsessed with how everything makes them feel. New media professor Judith […]

A new wave of sophisticated emo-diversity is ushering in an era in which people are increasingly obsessed with how everything makes them feel. New media professor Judith Williamson discusses brands as “empires of the mind.” Her phrase captures how campaigns must now construct full realms of association. It is no longer about simply boosting dopamine, but about creating user journeys that work in concert with a full range of feelings.

Granted, emotions are difficult to quantify—they are subjective and diffuse quickly. But measuring feelings is here to stay, says Jesper Fousing Wilhelmsen, senior communication consultant at market research firm Epinion. Digital culture has spent 20 years teaching us to prioritize efficiency and speed. But it is time for a different retail journey focused on emotion and serendipity.

WHY IT MATTERS

Consumers are exposed to nearly 5,000 advertisements per day, of which only about 12 will make an impression, according to a recent article in Entrepreneur. “Whether you are a Fortune 500 company or a recently funded startup, the best way for your business to stand out is by building emotional connections with your audience,” notes Jeremy Ellens, author of the article.

Case in point: In November 2015 the Harvard Business Review reported that when a bank introduced a credit card for Millennials designed to inspire emotional connection, usage rose by 70%, and new account growth increased by 40%.

The act of browsing, a fundamental part of discovery in brick-and-mortar stores, has been given a new twist as retailers tailor their offers to people’s personal moods. Brands are using emotional-quotient technology to capture emotional data and make personalized recommendations. Products are no longer organized by function but by the emotional response they elicit. Additionally, the spectrum of emotions that can be measured is growing, enabling brands to create even more personal experiences.

The result is a new set of trends, behavior patterns, and marketing techniques that brands plugging into the new E-motional Economy need to be aware of, including: Emotional Data Collection; Empathetic Experiences; Mood Retail; and Mood Manipulation.

DRIVERS

Photo: iStock/Alija

The Polarity Paradox—People have fled to temporary states of emotional extremism. Following an overdose of dramatic single-note experiences, a new reactionary mood means people now want to experience a more nuanced spectrum of emotions, plus entirely new ones. Consider the emergence of services and experiences, which encourages people to vent their frustration in a physical context. The Rage Room, where visitors pay $20 for a 30-minute session with a set of five plates that are free to smash, is a perfect example of this trend in action.

The Optimized Self—The blending of wellness and pop psychology has made wellness a blossoming lifestyle industry. The consumer health market will be worth $737 billion by 2017, with 1.7 billion tablets and smartphones hosting apps for monitoring well-being, according to Accenture. This shift is resonant in food and drink also. Companies such as U.S. food brand Dr. Smood, whose tagline is “Smart food for a good mood,” now use the language of mind-body wellness. Goldman Sachs is in conversation with the brand’s founders to look at how mood-enhancing nutrition could influence the workplace.

Humanized Tech—The first wave of digital life was flat, but now it’s 3D, sensorial, and interactive­. We now find it normal to conduct the most intimate areas of our personal lives via our phones and laptops. Virtual reality and humanized technology have made immersive connectivity widespread, and consumers now look for more emotional fulfillment from digital interactions.

IMPACTS

Emotional Data Collection

Today, websites already know how you feel, and so do the brands buying their data. The Feel wristband, launched at the start of 2016, gives users a way of being more in synch with themselves. “Hack Happiness,” says the website. The app measures and tracks the wearer’s feelings throughout the day through bio-signals, and then recommends actions that raise emotional well-being based on personal rhythms.

Eyewear brand Jinshas released a series of everyday wearables that monitor mind and body. Multiple sensors transmit data to a smartphone app for live monitoring, and the brand’s comms place emphasis on the daily routines of ordinary people. The eyewear monitors the wearer’s health and well-being according to two metrics: Mind Age (focus, energy, and calm) and Body Age (movement, posture, and stability).

Empathetic Experiences

Photo: iStock/Vulkanov

Designers are building virtual reality (VR) worlds in which people can embody abstract concepts and feel their way through a string of emotions. For example, The New York Times utilized the empathetic potential of VR when it used Google Cardboard to bring to life a November 2015 lead feature on the refugee crisis. Using Google’s accessible Cardboard headsets, which hold a smartphone, readers accessed first-person stories of refugees in VR through a New York Times app, enabling them to feel the contradictions of journeying like a refugee themselves.

Similarly, Gender Swap is a VR body-swap initiative using The Machine To Be Another project that lets users experience what it’s like to be someone else. The founders held a research fellowship at MIT, and wrote: “When people feel the actions, emotions, and corporeal sensations of being another body, it has deep implications in the development of empathy and social cognition.” Neuroscience studies now suggest that participating in VR body swaps helps people to reduce racial and gender bias.

Mood Retail

Brands are capturing emotional data to make more personalized recommendations. Products are no longer organized by function, but by the emotional response they elicit. To mark the launch of its autumn/winter 2015 collection, womenswear label Finery launched a microsite that enables customers to browse by feeling. Similarly, Hermès’ Hermèsistible platform, launched in November 2015, explores new ways of expressing the multiple emotions around experiencing desire.

UMood by Uniqlo is an in-store experience that makes recommendations based on reactions to emotional stimuli. Customers visiting the brand’s Australian flagship store could try on an EEG headset to measure responses to videos. The technology then suggested the perfect shirt based on the customer’s mood.

Swedish rainwear brand Stutterheim tapped into this by connecting its brand identity to the spectrum of melancholic moods associated with Scandinavian society. Taking Stutterheim’s co-opting of melancholy a step further, Volvo sets a great example with its Vintersaga campaign by playing with the Swedish word vemod, which roughly means melancholy tempered with optimism. Samsung’s See More, Feel More ad also taps into consumer desire for emo-diversity and emphasizes the emotional range that can be felt via the heightened experience they claim you get by watching digital content in HD.

Mood Manipulation

Evidence-based design, the science of understanding how users interact with the built environment, is spreading from fields such as healthcare into hotels, bars, and restaurants. For the interior architecture at Tuve Hotel, Hong Kong, marble and low lighting re-create the experience of cold and isolation felt around the Swedish lake after which the hotel is named.

This approach of blending mood notes to create a rich sense of brand association is emerging in product design, as well as interiors. Adventure wear brand Vollebak designed a restorative hoodie that calms the mind by relaxing the parasympathetic nervous system before or after extreme exertion. More than just brand language, complex feelings are at the forefront of product engineering here, changing how clothing is conceptualized and built.

CAPTURING THE MARKET

The new emo-diversity is expanding customer expectations and opening possibilities for brands. Brands will need the following building blocks now to master the new language of emotionally vibrant consumer communications:

Talk feelings. Speaking in the language of emotions will help people to connect with your message and feel in tune with the contemporary emphasis on feelings.

Become emo-diverse. Brands must move beyond creating single-note messages to building “empires of the mind” that are rich with multilayered associations.

Employ emotional tech. Take advantage of the latest emotional data analytics to tune into the journey your users and customers make as they experience your brand. Consider how virtual reality might open a user’s capacity to connect with alternative environments, social groups, and cultural situations.

Create compound connections. When creating user journeys, keep the concept of emo-diversity in mind and allow for transitions between a wide range of moods and sensations.

Categorize by feeling. Organize your products and services according to the emotional responses they elicit. Use personal data to make emotionally led recommendations.

Bio-connect your branding. Harness facial-recognition technology to respond to user reaction in real time, and create products, experiences, or recommendations personalized for them.

Sync head and heart. Help consumers make important decisions that are in sync with their feelings, especially in high-stakes sectors such as finance.

]]>http://shopassociation.org/trends-e-motional-economy/feed/0Neuro-Graphicshttp://shopassociation.org/trends-neuro-graphics/
http://shopassociation.org/trends-neuro-graphics/#commentsTue, 20 Sep 2016 20:52:59 +0000http://www.shopassociation.org/?p=9665Designers are drawing on patterns created by brain waves, movement tracking, and biometrics to create a visual lexicon for communicating emotions. The rise of a holistic […]

Designers are drawing on patterns created by brain waves, movement tracking, and biometrics to create a visual lexicon for communicating emotions. The rise of a holistic approach to health has made consumers more attuned to the inner workings of the brain and body. Brands are catering to this increased awareness with innovative communications and products.

The next-generation biometrics market is expected to reach $24.4 billion by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 17.9% between 2015 and 2020, according to a recent report by research firm MarketsandMarkets. And technology consulting firm Frost & Sullivan forecasts that 471 million people worldwide will be using a smartphone equipped with biometric technology in 2017, compared with 43 million in 2013.

This will have a significant impact on retail. In fact, 25% of U.K. retailers are using facial recognition technology to monitor customer activities in-store, according to a study by Computing magazine. The report also notes that 59% of fashion retailers are already deploying the technology, while 46% are using facial recognition for security purposes.

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DRIVERS

Designers are beginning to translate the patterns created by human brain waves, biometric measurements, and movement tracking into physical objects and environments. They’re combining science with intuitive mark-making to create a subtle and expressive aesthetic.

Rather than taking a literal approach, they are combining science with spontaneous mark-making to create a subtle and expressive aesthetic. “We need to push and stretch the visual language to capture the complexity of our emotions rather than constantly try to categorize and simplify it,” says Sophie Howarth, founder of Department Store for the Mind.

IMPACTS

Motion-Morphic. Muscle movements and footprints are informing the construction of materials used for garment and footwear production. Working in sync with the body, the designs function as next-generation performance textiles. Sportswear brands Adidas and New Balance are at the forefront of this direction. Both have unveiled prototypes of trainers with 3D-printed midsoles tailored to the wearer’s footprint and foot pressure points. The complex structure of the sole combines organic curves with delicate latticework.

Designer Jessica Smarsh has used machines to create textiles that appear handmade. She recorded the intensity and pace of individuals’ muscle movements, translating them into patterns for industrial looms. The elasticity of muscle fiber and its ability to contract and relax is reflected in the warp and weft of the weave. “I was interested in the relationship between muscle fibers and textile fibers, and the result that movement had on the constriction of each,” explains Smarsh.

Garments worn by dancers in the theatrical work Gravity Fatigue also examine this relationship. Fashion designer Hussein Chalayan worked with choreographer Damien Jalet to create costumes that would direct the dancers’ moves. “I wanted the garments to become the grammar for the movement,” he says.

Emo Haptics. In product manufacturing, designers are experimenting with textures and finishes to imbue surfaces with emotive qualities and communicate feelings through haptic interaction. Experimental designer Bart Hesscaptured the essence of the grotesque in a textile installation for the Biennale Internationale Design Saint-Étienne 2015. The artist combined latex sheeting with liquid latex to achieve a veiny texture and draped the material into imposing columns. The texture of the pieces evokes connotations with flesh and muscles, creating an extremely intimate and disturbing interaction.

Students from the University of Art and Design Offenbach examined the potential for applying emotive haptics in the automotive industry through interactive surfaces designed in collaboration with BMW. The textured, responsive surfaces enable intuitive communication between car and driver.

Brazilian designer Guto Requena used emotional data to transform love stories into tangible objects. Participants of The Love Story wore sensors that tracked their voice, heartbeat, sweat, and brain waves as they recounted a personal love story. The algorithms were transformed into physical objects using parametric software and a 3D printer. The final pieces have fibrous, intricate surfaces reflecting the complexity of emotional data.

Biometric Spaces. Sports brands continue to experiment with measuring biometric responses to exercise and translate the data into dark and dynamic environments. Working for Nike, London-based studio FIELDcreated an interactive visual installation that responded to a runner’s movements. The space featured a treadmill equipped with Microsoft Kinect sensors that collected information on the runner’s tempo, speed, and colors. The data was combined with software to generate visuals including a constant flow of vibrant digital brushstrokes that evoked the flow of blood around the body.

The #FeelWimbledon campaign by Jaguar measured the emotional response of spectators during a game via biometric cuffs. Readings presented on a digital platform showed the highs and lows felt by the crowd. And high-end gym chain Equinox uses gamified analytics to visualize the performance of people taking on its immersive cycling experience, The Pursuit. Individual biometric readings are translated into dynamic visuals that light up the dark, moody space.

Mind Marks. Designers are capturing the complexity of human emotions through a subtle aesthetic that draws on brain-wave patterns and the expressive mark-making of automatic drawing. Disturbance, a Visual Display of Migraine Auraby Italian graphic designer Francesca Magliani, attempts to communicate the physical and mental symptoms of the disease. “It was important for me to create a tool for those who don’t suffer from migraines to help them imagine and understand these sensations,” she explains. The project features a publication that categorizes the disturbances reported by sufferers and a series of posters that represent the sensations experienced during an attack.

Simple mark-making techniques were used for Human States of Mind, an artwork created for Department Store for the Mind. “I didn’t want to just illustrate the mood. I wanted to feel it,” says Howarth. “We started experimenting with lines to see how emotions could guide a pen on paper.” The result is a compelling visual typology that captures the complexity of human emotions.

Fashion brand Abstract_ uses an algorithm that analyzes the words and facial expressions of an individual to translate their emotions into a bespoke pattern.

CAPTURING THE MARKET

Although the realm of neuroscience and biometrics may seem daunting, a few simple guidelines can help retailers capture the attention and imagination of consumers’ brains to enhance their journey with brands:

Tune in. Draw inspiration from brain waves and biometric measurements to capture the imagination of consumers who are tracking the inner workings of the body and mind.

]]>http://shopassociation.org/trends-neuro-graphics/feed/1A.R.E.|POPAI Economic Advisor April 2016http://shopassociation.org/r-e-popai-economic-advisor-april-2016/
http://shopassociation.org/r-e-popai-economic-advisor-april-2016/#respondWed, 15 Jun 2016 05:27:19 +0000http://www.retailenvironments.org/?p=9237On April 1st, the Federal Reserve Board published their annual revision to the US Industrial Production data. Most years, the data adjustment is benign and does […]

On April 1st, the Federal Reserve Board published their annual revision to the US Industrial Production data. Most years, the data adjustment is benign and does not alter our forecasts considerably. This year was not one of those years. The Federal Reserve lowered the US Industrial Production growth rate in 2015 from 1.3% to 0.3%. The good news is that this revision
did not change the shape of the business cycle, just altered the amplitudes. This helped in terms of keeping much of our prior analyses intact (the second half of 2016 will be stronger than the first half, growth in 2017 and the majority of 2018).

We are seeing signs of accelerating growth in US Industrial Production for the second half of 2016/early 2017 in several of our leading indicators. The Purchasing Managers Index 1/12 rate-of-change (which leads US Industrial Production by approximately 9-12 months) formed a low in November 2015. We have seen a rise long and large enough to make this a definitive signal of accelerating growth in US Industrial Production as soon as 3Q16. Additionally, we are seeing tentative rise in the ITR Leading Indicator and the Conference Board’s US Leading Indicator. These signals, coupled with the trend in Corporate Bond Prices, all indicate a stronger second half of 2016.

As the maker culture has reached fever pitch, with marketers and creatives nearly fetishizing “the glory of handmade creation,” as Adweek puts it, a new facet of the movement is taking place that leverages the power of both mobility and education. Makerspaces—defined as places of invention, exploration, and creation—are popping up as standalone venues as well as temporary or movable exhibits in places like schools, libraries, museums, and community centers. Some have even reportedly appeared in the form of mobile trucks or bike trailers that offer unique, hands-on learning experiences within their communities.

“For those with the drive to expand opportunities to make through makerspaces, finding the space can often be a formidable barrier. Fortunately, makers are clever folks, and are continually finding alternative ways to think about spaces,” according to MakerEd, a non-profit organization that supports and empowers educators and communities—particularly, those in underserved areas—to facilitate meaningful making and learning experiences with youth.

These informal communities, also known as Movable Makers, are representative of a new consumer mindset that finds value in the art and science of handcrafted products as well as the flexible, almost nomadic nature of their members.

The Atmel Corporation, a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of microcontrollers, has calculated that there are approximately 135 million adult Makers in the U.S. This represents more than half (57%) of the American population 18 and over, and does not include the millions of children and teenagers who are active in STEM projects through science fairs, robotics teams, and tinkering in their basements.

Photo credit: istockphoto.com/vgajic

Additionally, Amtel cites a number of momentous events and economic benchmarks have cemented this movement as a formidable one for brands to consider in light of ongoing interest in the handcrafted market and the implications for future consumer trends:

The White House held its inaugural Maker Faire in 2014: “Today’s D.I.Y. is tomorrow’s “Made in America.’”

President Barack Obama proclaimed June 17 through June 23, 2016, as the National Week of Making, calling upon all Americans to observe the week with programs, ceremonies, and activities that encourage a new generation of makers and manufacturers to share their talents and hone their skills.

Photo credit: WhiteHouse.gov/nation-of-makers

There have been over 400 Maker Faires organized around the world since 2012.

A record 235,000 people attended the two flagship Maker Faires in the Bay Area and New York in 2015, with more than 2,100 maker entries between both locations.

More than $2.4 billion has been pledged by 10.9 million backers to 106,765 successfully-funded Kickstarter projects to date.

com, which maintains a database tracking activity across the top 35 investment crowdfunding platforms, estimates that the total global crowdfunding industry estimated fundraising volume in 2015 was $34 billion.

By 2025, the crowdfunding investment market is projected to reach $93 billion.

The 3D printing market is projected to be worth $8 billion by 2020.

World demand for 3D printing is projected to increase more than 20% per year to $5 billion in 2017.

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DRIVERS

The rise of the maker culture is closely associated with the rise of hackerspaces (places in which people with an interest in computing or technology can gather to work on projects while sharing ideas, equipment, and knowledge), Fab Labs (small-scale workshops offering personal, digital fabrication capabilities), and other “maker spaces,” including over 100 each in Germany and the U.S. As maker culture increases in popularity, hackerspaces and Fab Labs are also becoming more common in public libraries and universities, such as MIT and Carnegie Mellon (specifically around “shop” areas like the MIT Hobby Shop and CMU Robotics Club).

Additionally, the launch of the Maker Faire in the Bay Area in 2006 demonstrated the popularity of making and interest among legions of aspiring makers to participate in hands-on activities and learn new skills at the event, according to show organizers, Maker Media. Even brands like Barnes & Noble have embraced the Maker trend, hosting a Mini Maker Faire of its own in November of 2015, and setting up pop-up shops at the National Maker Faire in Washington in June 2016.

Maker Faire is primarily designed to be forward-looking, showcasing makers who are exploring new forms and new technologies. But it’s not just for the novel in technical fields; Maker Faire features innovation and experimentation across the spectrum of science, engineering, art, performance and craft.

IMPACT

There has been a spate of mobile and adaptable cultural projects internationally in recent months, including the Design Museum Dharavi, which harnesses the creative skills of the one million-strong residents of this Mumbai district. The area is home to more than 20,000 micro-factories, and the museum will highlight the skills housed in this community of informal dwellings, from ceramics to leather goods and laser-cutting. The museum will move every week for two months, reflecting the flexible and nomadic lifestyle of the designers involved.

Another recent example is The Moving Museum from Aya Mousawi and Simon Sakhai, or Station to Station: A 30-day Happening from Doug Aitken—reflecting a newly global, restless, and peripatetic consumer mindset.

Here in the U.S. the Movable Makers trend has been manifested in the recent opening of the first pop-up store, Make: Store, in San Francisco’s iconic Union Square during the holidays in 2015.

Photo credit: Maker Faire

“We’re really excited to bring a selection of our most popular products to a physical location where new consumers can be exposed to the thrill of making, and our offering of DIY electronics, kits, and books that facilitate finding your inner Maker,” said Gregg Brockway, CEO of MakerMedia, publisher of Make: magazine and producer of the popular Maker Faires.

Like the online Maker Shed, the physical Make: Store location offers a curated selection of drones, DIY kits, 3D printers, robotics, microcontrollers, Make: books, and tools—perfect for Makers of every level, from kids to the skilled expert. Located in the heart of Union Square, the Make: Store features a DIY self-gift wrapping station, author talks, “ask a maker,” interactive workshops, and product and kit demonstrations.

CAPTURING THE MARKET

Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. With this DIY-influenced mindset, it’s all about a hands-on approach. Brands that equip consumers with tools and spaces to work with their hands and bring their ideas to life will resonate with Makers.

Think pop-up. Mobility and the ability to work anywhere are the hallmarks of the digital era. Movable Makers convene wherever opportunities present themselves; all they need are the tools, materials, and temporary space to give birth to new ideas. Set up labs and incubators for creativity wherever space permits, or bring space to them with mobile Maker trucks.

Get collaborative. Public spaces that already exist in the form of museums, libraries, schools, and community centers are the perfect places to host temporary Maker events that will inspire. Partnering with these institutions brings value to them, the community, and the brands that support them.

Foster creativity. Help aspiring Makers to explore, create, and innovate by facilitating workshops with local artisans who have perfected their crafts. Offer challenges that stretch their thinking and reward their efforts.

Embrace technology. With the emergence of 3D technology, the Maker Movement isn’t just about traditional crafts and trades, but is also highly technical. Scientific innovations are being discovered as Makers push the boundaries of new materials and techniques in the science of creating by hand.

]]>http://shopassociation.org/movable-makers/feed/1Sensory Assaulthttp://shopassociation.org/sensory-assault/
http://shopassociation.org/sensory-assault/#respondWed, 15 Jun 2016 05:03:59 +0000http://www.retailenvironments.org/?p=9233Artists and image-makers have often found beauty in the grotesque. Now they are honing in on strange, slimy textures, colored liquids and imperfections of the body […]

Artists and image-makers have often found beauty in the grotesque. Now they are honing in on strange, slimy textures, colored liquids and imperfections of the body to inject imagery with careless playfulness and light-hearted fetishism. This assault on the senses is most prominently observed in art direction, beauty, styling, and experience design.

New products are failing at a disastrous rate, according to Martin Lindstrom in his book, Brand Sense: Sensory Secrets Behind the Stuff We Buy. “Most advertising campaigns do not register anything distinctive in the customer’s mind. Most products come across as interchangeable commodities rather than powerful brands,” the author notes.

As a result, Lindstrom suggests that brands need to be prepared to deliver a full sensory or emotional experience to the customer, which is becoming increasingly difficult to do in today’s overstimulated society.

The up-and-coming and influential Gen Viz mindset constantly demands new formats of visual stimulation. As a result, creatives are raising their game and crossing the boundaries of visual intimacy to engage with image-savvy and over-stimulated audiences

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DRIVERS

In order to capture the attention the Gen Viz demographic and appeal to their senses, creatives are experimenting with unusual surfaces, highly saturated, synthetic-looking colors, liquids, and slimy textures, distortions of the body, and substances affecting perception.

Key innovators of this trend include artist Maisie Cousins, makeup artist/illustrator Isamaya Ffrench, and visual artist Hayden Dunham. This emerging design direction melds together attraction and disgust to achieve a discordant and jarring visual quality. Concerned purely with sensual attraction, works target audiences’ hormonal impulses, instincts, and subconscious desires rather than aiming for an intellectual response.

“I think there needs to be a word for arousal that doesn’t have to do with sex, something that motivates you to do something bodily,” argues London-based photographer Maisie Cousins. Her works best represent the gaudy, humorous eroticism of this aesthetic. Its distinctive visual cues are hyper-saturated colors, spills and splashes of ambiguous liquids, and distorted portrayals of the body.

This subversive direction, which originated in the context of fine art, is now being adopted in commercial communications to appeal to the Gen Viz mindset.

IMPACT

Faces and bodies fall victim to whimsical experiments, often distorted and covered in liquids as make-up artists and imagemakers zoom in on and elevate bodily functions.

The signature aesthetic of London-based French is constructed around bold and unabashedly grotesque transformations. In her work, faces become characters, often covered completely in bright hues or dramatically distorted to hint at a storyline. “It is really important in our work that there are always elements that people can somehow subconsciously relate to,” the artist explained in a recent interview for Riposte magazine. “An image isn’t enough. You have to have some sort of narrative to go with it.”

This subversive approach to portraying the body is reflected in Plasticity, an editorial created by make-up artist Mathias van Hooff and photographer Paola Kudacki for Beauty Papers. Trapping the models’ skin in strips of translucent cellotape transforms it into an abstract and moldable surface. Van Hooff and Kudacki skillfully tread the line between disgust and attraction in this modern homage to bondage.

A similarly surreal and suggestive mood pervades the imagery created by Berlinbased Jonas Lindstroem for cosmetics brand Aesop. The Crying Tears of Body Scrub series focuses on bodily fluids such as sweat and saliva, fetishizing natural functions of the body in tight, intimate frames.

CAPTURING THE MARKET

Photo credit: Paola Kudacki for Beauty Papers (LSN.com)

Bring a sense of joyful rebellion to your brand communications. Tapping into the Gen Viz mindset is all about visual provocation.

Seduce and repulse. Mixing playful experimentation with a small dose of the grotesque will capture the attention of consumers who are bored with polished branded imagery.